Replacements
by Wraffie
Summary: Wallace leaves the Champion title behind to Steven, and bittersweet feelings overflow. Slight Originshipping, StevenxWallace, but also Cavernshipping, PhoebexSteven.


A/N: This is based off the manga, with Wallace becoming Champion but dropping his post and leaving it to Steven. There are few, if any 'fics out there with Phoebe, and I think she's the sweetest thing in the manga, so I decided to write something with her. 8D There's a mention of one-sided Originshipping, or WallacexSteven, but I tried to make the main focus PhoebexSteven, AKA Cavernshipping. It's very light anyway, though. Enjoy~

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Replacements

This wasn't how it was supposed to have happened. Everything was wrong. Pale hands adorned with a plethora of thick silver rings tightened around the fabric in their grasp, their owner staring with such intensity at the grey cape it was a shock he didn't burn a hole in it.

_Why_ was this his? He was truly so happy that it was. So immeasurably happy. But it wasn't supposed to be. So at the same time, while Steven Stone felt elation, he also felt loss. Why did he have to lose something he loved to gain this? One hand loosened and released the now quite wrinkly section of cape, instead rising to run through spiky blue-silver hair. In a daze of mixed emotions, Steven thought back to the events that had occurred just hours before.

The Champion's cape had been in reach. Just one victory away. The battles so far had been grueling and tough, but triumphant on his end. It was all riding on one more success. Steven's determination had been unquenchable. Never had he felt so alive, with the adrenaline brought on by battle rushing through him. What irony that both he and his childhood best friend, Wallace, had made it to the end. They were facing off. Steel-specialist versus the artist of Water-types. The longest, most intense battle Steven had ever been through. He remembered exhaustion, physical and mental, but mixed in with a refusal to give in that kept him from simply passing out. The living steel of his Pokémon glinting with water droplets, attacks flashing back and forth, and commands echoing out from sore throats and parched lips.

But in the end, Steven had lost. By a _hair_, but a loss it remained. Bitter defeat intertwined with the sweetness of seeing your long-time best friend triumph. A half-hearted smile appeared on Steven's lips, his eyes remaining shut in reverie.

"…_Metagross, return. Thank you," A panting voice murmured hoarsely after a few moments of astonished hesitation. The silver-haired male that had spoken reached to his belt and pulled out a red-and-white sphere, holding it up with a shaking hand before it fired out a red beam and encompassed the unconscious mass of Steel that was his strongest, oldest companion, and it vanished from sight. Steven Stone continued to clutch the Pokéball with all of his remaining strength, barely realizing what he was doing. He had lost. It was over._

_In a daze of shock and helplessness, angular blue eyes rose to the battle-marked but still beautiful Water-type curled up a few meters away. The cream snake-like creature looked at Steven for a moment with warm brown eyes before it turned around with a tired but ecstatic croon, fanning its blue and red tail with glee as it slithered toward its trainer._

"_Milotic…! We won!"Exclaimed Wallace with a kind of breathless excitement. He laughed gleefully as he hugged his own starter around the neck, the Milotic continuing to croon merrily. It wasn't often the calm, collected Wallace showed such a blatant amount of uncontrolled emotion. He could be so unreadable. An enigma. But surely no one could remain mischievously impassive upon becoming the Champion. _

_Over on the other side of the spectrum, Steven simply continued to stare. The wide, open smile was still on Wallace's face. He wanted to get closer to see it better. To embrace Wallace and join in his little celebration. But he had _**lost**. _And he would be nothing but a reminder that even when the closest of friends battle for the greatest honour, only one can win. Giving a weak shake of his head to dispel some of the water that had gotten in his hair during the battle, Steven straightened up proudly. Nothing less could be expected from the son of a businessman. While Wallace could hide his true emotions behind lighthearted wordplay and a pokerface like no other, Steven could appear polite and collected no matter the situation. Sophisticated black shoes made slight clacking sounds on the battleground surface and disturbed the remaining puddles as Steven approached Wallace, his eyes calmly half-lidded, but the Pokéball still tightly clutched in a subconscious display of misery._

"_Wallace. Congratulations." It was sincere. It really was. Spoken with a weakness that did not become the unruffled expression on his face, yes, but he really meant it. He hardly knew why he bothered faking his emotions around Wallace anymore. They always saw through each other's illusions. They knew each other too well._

"_Steven!...Thank you." Wallace began jovially, then toned down his happiness a degree, releasing Milotic to face Steven properly. Then as if to continue his sentence, he smiled and quirked an eyebrow, "…For the wonderful battle. You almost had me there. Using Agility to increase the strength of Bullet Punch like that. Simply _**beautifu**l~_" Wallace sighed, putting on a dreamy expression as if reminiscing in appreciation, lifting a graceful hand and fixing his wet, somewhat messy hair. Milotic gave a croon as if to agree with his trainer's words, resting his head gently on Wallace's shoulder, and shutting his eyes. Wallace muttered something to his Pokémon, a grateful smile on his face as he stroked Milotic's head. He pulled out a Pokéball and returned the beauty with a whisper of, "Rest now, chéri," _

_Steven waited a moment, then smiled slightly. They always used to do this after a battle. Compliment, review, learn together… Whether it was a battle with one another or after one with a Gym Leader. Almost nineteen years of memories rushed through his mind and widened his smile. When his eyes opened they were softer and his face no longer felt so tight. Wallace always could affect him this way. _

"_But you countered that move with Water Pulse and sent Metagross spinning back in confusion. Not to mention you won. I'd say you're the more beautiful," Steven replied, raising an eyebrow._

_  
"Of course, Steven. But you never much cared about beauty in battling. What did you expect?" The good-natured chuckle made a statement that might have been interpreted as arrogance seem almost humourous. _

_Steven just rolled his eyes with pretend annoyance, smiling despite the disappointment still stabbing at his chest. He could forget about it for a little while… Right now, they were friends just like old times. They weren't in Ever Grande City at the Pokemon League. There wasn't a crowd somewhere above behind a glass window, watching all this. They weren't going to have to go soon to meet the Director. _

_And with these thoughts, Steven soon found his mind drifting back to where it always did when Wallace was around. _

_Even with his hat askew and his shimmering azure hair soaked and sticking to his face, Wallace was beautiful. There was no other word for his effortless grace and communicative expressions. With a smile and a twinkle in his aqua eyes he could convey joy and mischief. With a raised eyebrow he could display curiosity or interest. And when he looked at Steven with those honest eyes alight with the same bittersweet joy Steven felt, he could show how much he loved his friend. Steven looked down, unable to hold that gaze for the blush that had appeared on his cheeks. He hoped both gestures could be interpreted as shame or something of the sort. Because he didn't want Wallace to know the true reason Steven couldn't look him in the eye. When had Steven started feeling such things for Wallace? Started seeing him this way? Even with his mind in turmoil and Wallace's surely alive with a maddening happiness, it somehow always went back to the fact that Steven loved Wallace. And in a way that went beyond platonic friendship._

_Wallace could always see right through him. Whenever he looked at Steven, the Steel-specialist felt sure that his true feelings had been discovered. This time was no different, however, he suddenly felt soft fingers under his chin, pressing lightly, urging his face to tilt back up. The façade was back. Wallace's face was pure artfulness, his side-bangs covering one of his eyes, but the eye in sight closed briefly, making Steven suspect a wink._

"_Don't look so sad, Steven~ By the end of this, we'll both be happy," he purred, and it didn't take his best friend to see he had something up his sleeve. Silver eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he stared at Wallace, his blue eyes growing quite intense as his embarrassing feelings were forgotten. Wallace chuckled, putting his hand on Steven's shoulder and placing the back of his hand against his cheek, stroking softly. "There he is. Now let's go, shall we? If I'm not mistaken, you have a new post to accept." _

_Steven resisted the urge to lean into the touch and sigh contentedly, trying instead to focus on Wallace's words instead. A new post to accept? Yes, but Wallace had one as well. He was Champion now, for Mew's sake. So why did he neglect to mention…? _

Blue eyes opened at last, a sigh escaping the Steven of the present. Wallace had 'neglected to mention' because he wasn't planning to keep the post he had fought so hard for. All along he had known he wasn't going to accept it. Why would he leave the Champion post behind?! To become a Gym Leader?! The Champion's cape was once again squeezed tightly, Steven giving a choked whimper as if of pain.

He had left _him_ behind. They would've been together. Wallace as Champion and Steven as the top of the Elite Four. But instead, Wallace had dropped the most prestigious title in Hoenn for another. So he could be close to Winona, the Gym Leader of Fortree. Because he was in love with her just as much as Steven was in love with him. Steven couldn't help but feel betrayed. Wallace had, in his eyes, left their friendship behind. Despite his incredible intuition when dealing with others…sometimes he could be so blind to the feelings of those closest to him. He didn't even know what he had done to Steven. And the Champion-by-default couldn't tell him and destroy their friendship even more. Steven looked up at the ceiling, a bitter, humourless smile on his face.

So in summary, his friend was gone but he was Champion. The bittersweet feeling sure seemed to enjoy plaguing him.

A knock on the door brought Steven's gaze back down, and he stared in curiosity a moment. He stood up, straightening his black suit with the purple zigzags, tugging at his sleeves and generally trying to fix his appearance as he muttered, "Come in,"

The door opened, and Phoebe stood there, smiling at him. He smiled back politely, his eyes blinking placidly. They had met during the tournament, and talked a little bit while waiting for their turn to battle. It was safe to say they were acquaintances. But not close enough for Steven to feel comfortable showing his true emotions. Of course not.

"Hello, Phoebe," he greeted with a nod of his head, his face carefully composed and seemingly relaxed. Fatigue still left over from the battle with Wallace made it more difficult to maintain his self-control, but the Champion was sure it was adequately intact.

"Hi Steven, dear. Congratulations on becoming Champion," she said smilingly, her deep blue eyes twinkling as she stepped into the room. Her bronzed skin gave off an eye-catching glow, and considering how much of it was showing while she was wearing naught but a chest band and a thin skirt tied at her hip, it seemed a feat Steven managed to keep his eyes on her face. But her expression radiated warmth and he found it impossible to look away from it.

How could a Ghost-type user from Mount Pyre be so full of life and warmth?

"Thank you, Phoebe. Congratulations yourself on becoming one of the Elite Four," he responded, smiling.

"Thanks. But Steven dear, are you sure you're alright? You seemed a little bit upset earlier today after Wallace left. You mentioned that he was a good friend of yours," Phoebe's ever-present smile became encouraging, as if he were nothing but a child she was trying to get to talk about what was hurting him.

Steven blinked, somewhat astonished. Had it really been that obvious? He chuckled weakly. "Haha. He's a good friend of mine. I was sad to see him go when I thought we were going to be at the League together. That's all," he explained with an appropriately sheepish grin.

"It's more than that," Phoebe replied at once, sweetly, softly, but with a confidence that made one remember that despite all appearances, she was a tough, ruthlessly power member of the Elite Four. Even if she had only received her position recently, and due to the fact Wallace left and brought all of the Elites up a tier, leaving an opening for her.

But she was a replacement Elite, just as he was the replacement Champion.

"…Perhaps. I guess I still wish he was Champion. I was…really looking forward to being one of the Elites, and he the Champion. I feel like he left me behind," he told trying to sound nonchalant. Why was he admitting this to a girl who was practically a stranger? She just seemed so sincere and trustworthy. She nodded at what he said, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his chest in a comforting embrace. Somehow he got the impression she knew he was leaving something out, but was proud of him for admitting that much. Steven blinked in surprise but put his hands gingerly on her waist and returned the hug. She eventually pulled away, planting a kiss on his cheek, directly to the right of his lips. Steven blushed subtly, composing himself best as he could.

"He doesn't know what he's missing, Steven dear. But you mustn't be so upset. You can count on the new Elite Four, now!" She smiled, her expression growing sure and determined. She moved past him after speaking, picking up the somewhat wrinkly cape and shaking it out. She walked back to Steven and put it around him, tying it at the front.

"There," Phoebe laughed, pleased at her own handiwork as she placed a hand on her hip. "Now, I'll let you rest. You must be exhausted," she purred, turning away and starting to walk back out the door. Steven watched her leave with something like appreciation and respect, finding himself already feeling a deep connection with the female. She had an intuition reminiscent of Wallace himself. And a kindness he had never seen in any other. He looked down thoughtfully, rubbing the material of the cape between forefinger and thumb.

"Steven, dear?" Phoebe suddenly whispered softly, turning back around with a slight smile.

Steven looked up in response, returning the smile without really realizing it. "Hm?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way…But I'm glad Wallace left. Otherwise, we'd never be able to be replacement Elites together at all." She told, the smile widening. Her deep blue eyes twinkled beautifully, and despite how incredibly hurt Steven was about Wallace leaving, he didn't take offense. He was happy too.

"Me too. Thanks, Phoebe," he said softly as she turned back around and left, closing the door behind her.

When she left, the lights seemed to dim and the room grow colder. But all alone once more, Steven suddenly realized something. He no longer felt the pangs of bitterness in his chest. Sure he would not be seeing as much of his _best_ friend…but it seemed he had gained a new one. Not a replacement. Never. But someone entirely new that he already found himself caring deeply for.

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A/N: Hmm it's a bit hard to write Steven, Wallace, and Phoebe seeing as they're complex characters, and Phoebe lacks development. :c I'd like to think this is a good start, though. Critiscism and reviews would be very, very helpful. C:

Oh, and I was considering adding more chapters to this, using either a regular timeline or just jumping ahead to certain 'pivotal' points. Give me your opinions, valued readers~ ;D


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